WE often hear teachers lamenting that they are directed to sit on too many committees, attend too many meetings and prepare too many reports.

As a result, they have little time left for lesson preparations and actual classroom teaching — their core duties. Those who try to do everything work their heads off and end up burnt out.

Need it be like this? Don’t we have a different perspective?

Admittedly, forming committees, conducting meetings and presenting reports are necessary functions in all organisations. Done appropriately, they bring benefits. In schools, problems arise when these activities are carried out in excess, without proper planning and with no definite agenda.

To be fair, teachers need to know that the process of teaching and learning is not an isolated activity. As much as teachers would like to enter a class that has a conducive learning atmosphere — a room equipped with all basic teaching paraphernalia, and motivated students — teachers are as much responsible for helping to create that conducive environment.

And, as much as teachers would like to impart knowledge to their students effectively and efficiently, they are also responsible for the wholesome development of their charges, as dictated by the national education philosophy.

Aspects of the curriculum and co-curriculum must be tackled. It is not just about teaching but about educating comprehensively. To achieve these objectives, teachers need to work hand in hand with the school administration. And, to succeed and excel, committees, meetings and reports are unavoidable tools.

A school’s most important stakeholders are its students. Teachers are closest to students. They can best gauge the “heartbeat” of the students regarding the impact of any school programme.

Teachers’ voices concerning their charges must be heard and taken into consideration in all school planning and implementation.

Committees, meetings and reports facilitate these outcomes. Teachers have no choice but to be involved.

The onus of ensuring that the “machinery” of committees, meetings and reports are effective and efficient — so that teachers are not overly burdened — lies squarely on the shoulders of school administrators and the headmaster, in particular.

A balanced approach is important. Some pitfalls to avoid are: always “honouring” capable teachers with more duties; giving insufficient exposure to less capable teachers to develop themselves; playing favouritism by overburdening some teachers while others are practically free; some headmasters practise an overdose of delegating.

While delegation is a means of training subordinates, certain tasks are simply not delegable or at least not without proper supervision. Teachers assigned to do the work may not have the required exposure. Quality of work suffers consequently.

Certain committees, meetings and reports are the prerogative of the headmaster; he should not lightly send a representative. Besides unnecessarily burdening the teacher, the headmaster in effect dilutes his contribution.

To conclude, teachers should appreciate their broader role in educating their charges. Headmasters should use wisdom in optimising their schools’ potential in managing committees, meetings and reports. Only then can a school truly progress in its quest for success and excellence.

LIONG KAM CHONG, Seremban

Source: NST – March 31, 2009